Radioimmunoassay for phencyclidine (PCP) in serum

This accurate, sensitive radioimmunoassay for determining phencyclidine concentrations in serum specimens involves the use of anti-phencyclidine sera, 0.1 mL of serum specimen, an iodinated tracer, and a solid-phase separation. Phencyclidine metabolites do not show significant cross reactivity, but several phencyclidine analogs do cross react. Within-run coefficients of variation for human and dog serum ranged from 2.5 to 13% for concentrations from 2.0 to 500 micrograms/L. Day-to-day coefficients of variation for human and dog serum ranged from 4.3 to 16.7% for concentrations ranging from 2.0 to 90.0 micrograms/L. The sensitivity of the radioimmunoassay is less than 0.5 micrograms/L. Thirty serum specimens from two dogs given 1 mg of phencyclidine per kilogram body weight were analyzed by radioimmunoassay and a gas-chromatographic method. Nonparametric statistical comparison and linear regression showed that results from the two procedures correlate well (r2 = 0.952). Concentration-time data from the two dogs are presented to illustrate the utility of the radioimmunoassay for examining phencyclidine disposition.